The School

The school campus is expected to have cost approximately HK$1 billion to have been built, a 3.7-hectare site.

Harrow International School Hong Kong is Hong Kong's second international boarding school, with 1,200 estimated intake its first year, of whom 440 students will be boarders. It is the third such school coming under the management of Harrow International Ltd, a private company which runs both Harrow International School Bangkok and Harrow International School Beijing, and modelled around the education that is provided by the Harrow School in north-west London.

The school is one of four international schools to have benefitted from being allocated land by the Hong Kong government. The land had been granted by the Hong Kong government in late 2008 for the nominal consideration of HK$1,000, despite having a value of HK$600 million, in its location adjacent to the Gold Coast.

Curriculum is set to be based around IGCSE and A-Levels.

Many of the teachers are to be recruited from the UK.

With an ultimate capacity of 450 primary and 1,050 secondary pupils, it is required to reserve at least half of its places for non-local youngsters.

Harrow anticipate the students to apply and gain entry to the world’s top universities in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and others. The school has a Sixth Form Co-ordinator; a member of staff who is responsible for overseeing life in the Sixth Form including university preparation and application as well as other activities.

Admission

The school is selective in its admission policy, not just ability to pay. Pupils will be selected according to evidence shown in tests and interviews for a propensity to contribute to school life academically and in other fields.

The testing and interview process takes just over 2 hours for Years 2-5 applicants and closer to 3 hours for older years (Years 6 and above).

Students are generally interviewed in groups of six. For these age ranges each session will involve: - a one-on-one interview with one of our academic staff during which we discuss each student’s strengths, interests and aspirations. - some externally moderated online computer tests which assess mathematic, English, and developed abilities. - some writing tasks to ensure that all students have an appropriate level of written English.

Interviews for younger students will last between 45 minutes and one and a half hours. Younger children are interviewed in groups of four.

Boarding Houses

It is expected that about half the places will be taken up by non-local pupils, including those children of overseas workers. The first phase's 440 boarding places will increase by 120 in its second phase.